


Blood Moon

by slightlycrunchy



Category: Linked Universe-Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Its a lot, More angst, Panic attacks mentioned in chapter 2, the boys aren’t in this as much, zelink, zelink but not the way you might think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 03:42:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21130187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightlycrunchy/pseuds/slightlycrunchy
Summary: A memory...? A blood moon? How will the nine companions face the horror before them?





	1. Chapter 1

Everything was red. His own blood pounded in his ear, his body felt...hot. He looked down, eyes wide as he saw a valley carved into his left side and around his back, blood oozing like rivers out of it. Wait, his ear? He moved his hand to rest where his left ear should be. Only to come away with blood dripping copiously from it. No ear. 

All of these things he observed as if outside himself, until now. As if pulled into himself from somewhere else, like lightning, the pain, oh gods _the pain_. He couldn’t see, his vision blurred as he dropped to his knees, realizing now that his leg contained a gaping hole, spanning most of his calf and thigh. _Oh gods what is happening? The pain the painthepainthe-_

He became aware of a hand on his shoulder....a voice? “Link, save yourself! I’ll be fine!”, the intonation betrayed it as female. Link raised his eyes, recognition written across his pupils. He knew what he would see when he raised his head. _No, not again._  
The guardian bore down upon them, stepping over its dead allies with ease as it trained it’s cold, red eye on his chest. The beeping quickened, he knew what came next. 

The pain was _unbearable_, but he put his weight on his right leg, which wasn’t faring better despite the non-injury, and somehow raised to a standing position. He swayed, raising the sword that seals the darkness, knowing this would be his final stand. He felt regret. He felt fear, so much fear... He felt tears, tears of disappointment, of anger. 

He felt her hand...he couldn’t protect her. He failed. His head swam. Self-loathing overtook his mind, _I hate this, I hate...me_

He felt a tug at his shoulder, pulling him back. His legs were weak, he didn’t expect anything different when he hit the ground, head hitting the ground with force. His vision was fading, mostly due to the large amounts of blood loss occurring from his dire injuries. 

He lay on the muddy ground, blood pooling around him, leaking from his side and his leg. The rain that he only just noticed kissed his face as it fell, reflecting an unbelievably bright light that enveloped him. _...feels so warm..._ he thought, consciousness fading away. 

Far away he heard wet footsteps, and felt an arm behind his head, supporting him. “No, no Link! You’re going to be fine!”, she said through tears. Zelda. He didn’t think he would be fine.

“I-...hurts...” It only just slipped past his lips as a wet cough forced its way out of his throat. Breathing was becoming difficult. He opened his eyes, seeing her emerald pools staring down at him. What was she saying? His remaining ear wasn’t betraying the words leaving her lips, he wished it would. He would like to hear her voice...one last time...

He didn’t want to leave. There’s so much he had left to do, so much to do...with her? His wish of wishes, but why would she want him. _She’s probably glad to be rid of a useless knight,_ he thought. 

His chest barely moved, lungs only accepting shallow breaths of air. He stared into her eyes, how dare he blink when he knew any second would be the last he looked upon her face. She turned her head to the side slightly, giving him just the ghost of a smile, probably trying to reassure him, he thought. And that was the last he saw of his princess, the black entangling him, dragging him into the abyss. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight couldn’t sleep. He had tried for probably half an hour now. It was still early in the night, first watch. He had second. He thought he might as well join Wild, company never hurt anyone. 

He got out of his bedroll, hiking up his pelt to ward off the chill of the night. _Hopefully cub wore something warmer tonight, there’s a chill in the air._ He walked away from the group, all of them sleeping soundly. Time was drooling onto Four’s hand, it having been trapped beneath his head. He made a mental note to tease the old man about it later. 

The moon was rising, high, but not midnight just yet. Twilight cleared the brush, the cliff where Wild presided coming into view. 

But instead of finding Wild keeping watch, he saw a lump on the ground, writhing in discomfort. His heart dropping to his stomach, as he sprinted to his charge. 

“Wild?! Wild!”, he yelled as he knelt beside him, taking in the sight before him. 

Wild was laying on his side, curled into as tight a ball as he could manage, fists pressed to his eyes, so hard it looked painful. He was shivering, trembling, his long hair damp with sweat. 

“Oh gods cub, are you hurt? What is it?”, he said half to himself, pretty certain that Wild wasn’t listening. He rolled his charge to his back, cradling his form, bringing him into his chest. 

And only then did he hear the sounds. So quiet, it was no wonder he didn’t at first. 

Whimpers. Cries. _Agony._

Twilight looked down on him in horror, his stomach twisting in knots. _He didn’t know what to do._ He needed more information, was he injured? He could be in shock from some untreated wound, goodness knows it had happened before. 

He decided the first thing was to remove his hands from his face. He thought it would be easy, but he was wrong. Wild fought against him as he pulled with all his might, so much so that Twi thought he would hurt him. But eventually, he relaxed enough for Twi to place them in his lap. 

The face that was revealed wasn’t any better. Pain was written in every feature, his mouth twisted into a grimace, eyebrows drawn together in agony, his cheeks soaked with tears...

“Oh cub what is happening to you...”, he trailed off, moving his free hand to rest on the side of Wild’s face, bringing his head firm against Twi’s chest. 

Suddenly he heard a new noise, a different one than had been constantly escaping Wild’s form. “...elda...”, he said. Twi looked down on his face, only to see electric blue iris’s staring blankly ahead. 

“...stupid...” he continued. “Failed.” His voice was stronger now. Twi was about to respond when Wild’s eyes lit up with something new. Terror. A stuttering intake of air, as his eyes roved up towards the heavens, directly above them. He should have seen Twilight at this angle, but he seemed to look straight through him. Twilight followed his eyes, expecting to see nothing but stars. 

Instead he saw red. 

The blood moon. Twi had experienced this before. He had been on a few travels with Wild previously after all. But this entire experience was new. What was happening to his cub...was this because of the blood moon?

He looked back down when, after a second passed, Wild’s shaking began anew followed by _screaming_. His eyes were shut again, hands brought back up, but instead they rested on his head, as if battling whatever was happening inside. 

Twilight grasped his convulsing form firmly to his chest, repeating “Cub I’m here, it’s ok.” over and over as the peak of the blood moon came to pass. 

At last, it was done. The moon turned white, clean, as if nothing had happened. 

Twilights only way of knowing this was when Wild’s form went limp, head lolling back to rest on his forearm, face finally relaxed and at peace. 

Twilight quickly put his fingers to the hollow of his neck, checking for a pulse. There certainly was one, rapid and irregular, as if adrenaline was still being pumped through his veins. 

He shifted Wild’s limp body and stood, turning to head back to camp. _Time won’t like this_ he thought. 

~~~~~~~~~~

He entered camp to an entirely awake group. Most half-dressed and completing the task as he walked towards the fire, limp Wild in his arms. Their eyes all turned to observe the shocking scene, rushing to his side. 

“Is he dead?!” yelled Wind, worry coloring his features. “We heard a scream, it sounded...terrified,” Legend added. 

“What’s happened?”, Time uttered quietly, taking Wild’s legs from Twi and lowering him to his bedroll by the fire. Wild stayed entirely still, head lolling to the side in his unconscious state. 

“I really have no idea, but it had to do with the blood moon. He looked..._tortured_ Time. I don’t know if it was a memory or some kind of magic Ganon casts during the blood moon but...”, he trailed off as he shuddered. 

A sound broke him from his reverie, the same stuttering gasp he had heard earlier. He looked down only to see Wild shoot up to a sitting position, his icy blue eyes filled with panic, chest heaving in fear. 

Twi immediately fell to his knees, grabbing Wild’s hands in his own and bringing them to an eye level. 

“Cub, it’s me. You’re safe. It’s not real.” Wild’s eyes roamed everywhere but his face, seemingly still not aware of where he was, or even that he had any physical contact. 

His chest was heaving, at a rate that could only lead to hyperventilation. Twilight dropped his left hand, only to bring his own to Wild’s chest, applying pressure in specific intervals. 

“Breathe, cub. Follow me...” Wild blinked rapidly, seemingly becoming aware of his surroundings. His chest followed the direction of his hand. His eyes steadied, and finally, landed on his mentors face. 

“Oh thank gods,” Twi said, relief absolutely dripping from his voice. 

“...Twi...it...hurt...”, he said weakly, grabbing at his left side suddenly, where of course they all knew about the scars. Twilight let go of his other hand. “I know cub...but that’s done now. There’s no hurt here. We’re here.”

Wild took his eyes off of Twilight to look around him. The other 7 of their brothers were circled around, relief mixed with still a twinge of worry etched across their faces. 

Wild smiled, his small one-sided smile he was known for, before grabbing his head and swaying ever so slightly. 

“Come now cub, you went through it tonight, time to rest.”, Time said firmly but kindly, supporting Wild’s shoulders as he lay down. The second his head found the soft pelt Twilight had placed there moments before, he was out cold. 

Time returned to Twi to discuss the night. So many questions were raised about what had happened. Why? And how? What had he seen? And most importantly...blood moons happen regularly. Did...Wild suffer through this during every one? 

Sadness gripped Twi as he fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning. “Oh, cub...what have you been through?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When unexplained events create a rift in the family dynamic, how can they begin to repair it? Will it be too late?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! Yay! Part two of this, thank you all SO MUCH for the feedback! So many warm fuzzies. Kind of took it in a diff direction but you’ll still get your angst 😛

Wild opened his eyes. 

The early morning sun filtered through the leaves of the trees surrounding the clearing he and the others had stopped at the night before. A soft familiar pelt supported his head as he took in his surroundings. His head hurt, pounding. His eyes felt heavy and swollen, had he been...crying?

A movement beneath his right hand led him to inventory the rest of his body. His chest felt restricted, tight. He took a deep breath. 

In.   
Out. 

Twi looked up from where he was resting beneath his right hand. He nuzzled Wild’s side gently before checking around and transforming. 

He sat cross legged beside Wild, eyes trained on his face. 

“What do you remember?”

Wild put a hand beneath himself, pushing to a sitting position. Goddess his muscles hurt. What had happened? By how he felt and the look on Twis face, something obviously did. 

He drew his knees into his chest and laid his head on them, his eyes shut. His fingers massaged his temples, hoping to alleviate his pounding head. 

He brought up his memory of the night before. He had made dinner, a simple mushroom rice risotto. He and Hyrule had spent time talking on a stump removed a ways from the fire. And as everyone had entered their bed rolls for the night, he took first watch. 

He sat on the edge of a small cliff just outside their chosen clearing for the night, enjoying the stars and the full moon rising. Bright and clear...

Red. 

He stopped rubbing his temples. He raised his eyes to meet Twi’s. 

“It was a blood moon wasn’t it?”

Twi nodded solemnly. 

Wilds cheeks began to flush. He shook his head aggressively, as if forcing the memory away. “Twi I-“

Twi put his hand on Wilds arm, stopping him short. 

“Don’t you dare. You had no control over that. Cub, has this happened before? Does it happen every time?” The lilt of his voice rose with each word, betraying his worry. 

Wild moved his arm away, turning his eyes back down to himself. “Don’t worry about it Twi, it happens sometimes. It’s not a big deal.”

“Absolutely not, that was the opposite of not a big deal, you didn’t see what was happening to you, I was so sca-“

A rustle from the edge of the clearing led their eyes to see Wind sitting up, rubbing his eyes. He stretched and proceeded to lay back down, flopping his entire weight onto Warriors, the only sign he noticed being a small grunt. 

Wild felt relief, no chance to talk about it now. He could feel Twi’s eyes burning a hole into him, but he chose to ignore it instead. 

Time for breakfast. 

~~~~~~~~~~

After they all ate and picked up camp, they began their journey to town. Four had let them know that they were running low on potions and so the task for the day became to remedy that. 

They weren’t far from Kakariko, entering under the beautiful arches only an hour later. 

Four, Hyrule, Legend, Sky, and Wind went to buy necessary potions while Wild said he needed to stock up on fire arrows. Warriors volunteered to join him, remembering the shop owners capacity to flirt. 

Time and Twi had other business to attend to. 

Twi had filled Time in on what had occurred that morning. And once the objective had been set for the day, it had been decided that a visit to Impa would be in order. 

The two climbed the well worn but still beautiful wood steps, the pleasant breeze bringing just a few misty droplets from the waterfalls to land on their skin. 

Time placed his hands on the heavy doors, pushing them open to reveal a dark, but warm, space. Straight ahead of them sat Impa upon her cushions, a familiar and welcome sight to them. 

She immediately smiled upon seeing them, “I heard we had some visitors, how nice to see you both again.”

They continued down the aisle, spouting pleasantries and hellos. They finally came to stop before her, both sitting down on their own square cushion that was provided. 

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Twilight and Time, correct?”

Time spoke, “Yes ma’am.”

“Oh please just call me Impa, no need for formalities. Besides, you are all practically brothers to our Link, you’re like extended family.” she said with a smile. 

“The gesture is much appreciated.” Time said with a bow of his head. 

Twilight spoke. “Impa, we’ve come with an issue that we hope you can shed some light on. Last night was another blood moon which you no doubt saw. Wild- er, I mean, Link- he had some sort of...attack. He was trapped in his own mind and he couldn’t see anything before him. He was terrified and in...pain...” his voice trailed off, eyes shifting down. He really did not like recalling the memory. 

Time looked at his pup, the sight tugging at his heart for a moment, before he continued. “He was mumbling things about Zelda and failing her. And then at the peak of the blood moon he panicked, followed by unconsciousness.”

Impa’s face had shifted into one of worry. She listened intently before speaking, “Sadly I know of what you speak. This has happened before in the village. I had hoped it was not a regular occurrence. But it is seeming more so as time passes.” She closed her eyes and shifted upon her cushions. 

“He wandered into the village one very late night, on his way to the inn no doubt. The guards below watched him as he passed, saying hello. They tell me as if lightning struck him, he seized and fell. He screamed in pain and his whole body was rigid. Only by chance did one of the men notice the blood moon above them, therefore making the connection. It seems this natural force in our world triggers something within Link. Though I cannot say what. I’m afraid that all I’m giving you is more questions instead of answers. I’m sorry. “

“No, please, knowing that someone else has seen it is a comfort in its own right,” Time interjected. 

They spoke about it for only a short time more, not wanting to draw suspicion from Wild as to where they were. 

The two thanked Impa and made their way back to the agreed-upon meeting place, the goddess statue at the center of town. All but Wild and Warriors had appeared before them, warranting a sigh of relief between the two mentors. 

Not long after, Wild and Warriors came strolling out of the shop. Warriors was talking loudly back through the door, something along the lines of, “oh you!” while laughing and gesturing excitedly. 

They joined the idle group, as Twilight eyed his charge. Wild felt the burning of his eyes again but did not look up, instead busying himself with asking Four what their inventory consisted of now. 

Simultaneously Warriors walked up to where Time and Twi were standing, slightly apart from the center of the group. 

“He seems off today. He stared at those fire arrows on the shelf for about 5 minutes straight. Didn’t even send an eye roll my way while I propositioned the clerk. “ Warriors said, somehow with a straight face. 

“I think it’s a good idea to keep an eye on him. We don’t really understand what’s been happening. And he definitely seems to be not himself. I know he doesn’t like us to worry about him, I’m sure that’s where this is coming from. We all have that streak after all. “ Time said, folding his arms across his chest and looking to Twilight. 

Twilight nodded. He didn’t know what to do. He needed answers but leveling them directly at Wild wouldn’t get him anywhere. Wild acted like everything was fine all the time even when things absolutely weren’t. 

Twilight let out a frustrated sigh, running his hands down his face, “I’m tired. Let’s go.”

~~~~~~~~~~

That same day they switched Hyrules, an experience they had all come to expect, even though it still wasn’t a pleasant one exactly. 

Twilight noticed almost immediately a change in Wild’s demeanor. His posture straightened, the gloom that had centered itself over him had lifted it seemed, and he was holding conversation with the other members again. 

But he still was avoiding Twi. 

Over the next month of being in Legend’s Hyrule, Twi had a pit in his stomach. Wild wouldn’t look at him. When they sat down to rest anywhere, Wild would settle anywhere but where he was. He was agitated anytime he had to be near Twi, and it was hurting his mentor more than he could possibly know. 

The evening came and Wild was on dinner duty, as usual. Good thing he enjoyed it or the charm would have worn off long ago. Wind and Sky helped him forage for ingredients, some simple greens for soup. They were running low on provisions and this would fill them, even if chances were they wouldn’t be the happiest with the menu for the night. 

The three returned to camp and made busy work of dinner, Wild doing most of the job as expected. 

His practice was to always let the others serve themselves first, if not fill a dish for them himself. But he was always last. It did his heart good to see his brothers eat, even though he wouldn’t put it in so many words as that. 

One by one they filled their bowls followed by their bellies. He watched them all, Wind always scrambled to the beginning of the line, no matter how many times Time told him he should defer to his elders. 

He also saw Twilight. Who never looked up when Wild called dinner done. And once the others got up from their resting sites, heading to the pot, he saw Twi did too. But did not head in the same direction. He hadn’t noticed Twi eat much, if anything at all for lunch either. 

Wilds eyes followed Twi into the forest until they couldn’t anymore. At which point they roamed the group and came to find Times eyes trained on himself. 

Wild felt his face flush and looked away. Why did he do that? What was with Time anyway, was it about Twilight? He doesn’t control what Twi does. He knew things have been tense between them but it’s not a big deal...right?

Night was falling. Twilight had not reappeared from the trees. 

Time looked over to Wild, still sitting where he had during dinner. His face was drawn in, looking down at his hands which hadn’t stopped fiddling for hours. _Perhaps he’s rethinking how he’s been acting lately_ Time thought to himself. 

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Twilight stepped out of the tree line. His shoulders were a bit hunched and his face betrayed discomfort. 

Wild watched as Time got up and made his way over to his protege, placing a hand on his shoulder and clearly asking him something, though it was out of earshot. 

Twilight waved him away, shaking his head as if to say no, and simply went to his pack, unfurling his bedroll and wrapping himself inside. He faced away from the group, and Wild had a feeling that was a conscious decision. 

Wild couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt that poured over him in this moment. As if a vat of honey flowed over his person from above. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t see. It enveloped him. _Why is this happening? What is wrong with Twi and why do I feel like it’s my fault?!_ he internally screamed. 

He rose from his perch and agitatedly paced into the trees. He needed a moment. This was driving him mad. 

He looked to the sky, seeing the thousands of stars shimmering like diamonds upon them all. Wild loved the stars. In the height of his adventure, the stars would ground him. Remind him of his true insignificance, which at a time where it felt like the world was upon his shoulders, was a welcome reprieve. 

He took a deep breath. 

In.   
Out. 

He didn’t know exactly what he needed to do, but something needed to change. In usual Wild fashion, he decided he would fly by the seat of his pants and hope things worked out ok in the end. Tomorrow, he had work to do. 

~~~~~~~~~~

The rising sun spread its pink and orange light across Wilds face as he opened his eyes, the warmth met his cheek as if to kiss him good morning. He placed his fingertips upon the spot, then proceeded to stretch his entire length as much as he could inside a bedroll. 

He rose to a sitting position, taking in his surroundings. Hyrule, Wind and Sky were all dog-piled into a mess of blankets and limbs. Warriors and Legend were technically not near one another but all the same had linked arms at some point in the night. Time and Four were back to back, Four no doubt benefitting from Times body heat. And then there was Twilight. 

The memory of the night before infiltrated Wild’s mind. In between the hot feeling of shame and confusion he of course noticed Twi’s physical condition. His change in posture and perhaps a bit off way of walking had registered as abnormal. But between all the injuries and physical complications the boys experience on the regular, he supposed he filed it away as not deadly and had moved on with his self reflection. 

Also Time had checked on him, right? Surely that was enough...?

As these thoughts made their way through his consciousness, his eyes never left his mentor. And therefore they were interrupted by something unusual. 

Twilights back still faced the rest of the group, but Wild didn’t need to see his face to see the first jerk of his body. Two seconds went by...another jolt. 

Although he had no context to necessarily see this as worrisome, Wild threw away his blankets and quietly but quickly made his way across the clearing. 

He reached his mentor and knelt beside him, observing. Another lurch met his eyes, this time accompanied by a groan escaping his throat, his face twisted in discomfort. His fists had balled his bedroll into a tight knot, knuckles white with aggression. 

He returned his eyes to Twis face which still half faced away from him. For the first time he noticed the beads of sweat making their way across his forehead, into his furrowed eyebrows. 

Wild was feeling an increasing sense of unease within his core, his stomach twisting in knots. He absentmindedly ran his palm along Twis head, following the liquid trails and removing them. 

This caused Twi to suddenly jerk his entire body, effectively turning himself onto his own back, a pained groan accompanying the movement. 

For the first time Wild could see his entire face, and it wasn’t a pleasant sight. He glistened with sweat, his face drawn in in distress. He now brought his balled fists up to his chin, and his knees followed as he turned to face Wild. He couldn’t help but think he looked like a little boy having a nightmare...

“...but...didn’t-“ Twi mumbled, still asleep.   
“...no...no...didn’t mean to...”

Wild felt uneasy watching his internal struggle. He wondered what was going on in his mind to cause this battle with himself. 

“...Wild...he...I-ah!“ Twilight cut himself off with a yelp, instantly curling into himself. 

Wild heard what was said, he had had enough of this. He gently but surely put a hand to Twilights closest shoulder, and pushed him smoothly to his back. Straightening himself up he leaned himself more over Twis body in order for his words to meet him. 

“Twi, wake up. Twi, it’s just a nightmare, wake up!”, he aggressively whispered while lightly shaking his shoulders. 

Twis eyes flew open, terror written across them and Wild could barely get out of his way fast enough before he bolted upright. 

His chest heaved up and down as his breaths escaped him, erratic and uncontrolled. He stayed this way for a few seconds before noticing a hand on his shoulder. 

Twi looked to his right to see Wild, eyes wide with concern. This discovery caused his breathing to even out, slowing to just above normal. 

“Wha-what’s going on? What are you doing?” Twi stammered out, breathless still. 

“You were having a nightmare. I was watching over you until it began to worry me so I chose to wake you.”

Rustlings of clothes and other fabrics met with this conversation. The commotion had expectedly woken the other members of the group. Seven pairs of sleepy eyes were trained on the two. 

Twi felt his cheeks glow. He didn’t like this kind of attention. 

“Thanks for doing that, I don’t remember what I was dreaming about but...thanks.” he said sheepishly, barely making eye contact with Wild. 

Time gave a knowing glance to Wild, but Wild was unsure of exactly what he was trying to convey. 

Wild returned his gaze to Twi, who was still sitting in the same position but had moved one of his closed fists to his chest, eyes glazed over. 

Wild felt a little awkward, knowing Twi probably didn’t like that he had witnessed himself in such a state. Of which Wild wished he could put those worries at ease- 

But instead he opted for, “Are you hungry?”

This seemed to break Twi’s reverie, as he looked up and over to his protege and gave him the slightest smile. 

“I’m going to go clean up. Some river water will do me some good.”

Wild nodded as he watched him rise. He wasn’t the only one either. The rest of the group was intently watching their brother with interest. They didn’t know what happened, but no one missed the fact that Twilight wasn’t at one hundred percent. 

Twilight rose to standing, but just as the night before, his posture wasn’t entirely normal. His shoulders slouched forward ever so slightly while he walked. Staggered more like. 

Another few steps and the hand that had left his chest to be of use to stand, was returned there. 

Wild had moved back to his own quarters to procure something for breakfast, but was still stealing glances at Twi between searching his pack. 

He saw when Twi stopped, clutching his chest. When he bent over to rest the other hand on his knee. 

He was already running when he saw the heavy breaths shaking his mentors form. 

And he was there to catch him when he collapsed into a heap on the ground. 

“Time!”, Wild yelled as he gripped Twilight, taking in what was happening before him. 

“Ah-AH!”, Twi yelled in pain as he still gripped his chest, his whole body tense with discomfort. His breathing was quick and shallow, out of control. 

Wild looked on in terror, not knowing what to do or if he was helping or-

Suddenly Time and Four were beside them, taking Twi’s weight and sitting him upright between them. Twilights face twisted in pain and his head rolled back to rest on their arms supporting him as his breathing remained erratic. 

“Pup you have to look at me, don’t think about the pain or anyone else here, look at my eyes.” Time said sternly. 

Twi lifted his head forward, his features betraying dizziness. Another minute of this and he would lose consciousness. 

Time looked around himself quickly and picked an object from the pebbles that were sprinkled around their location. 

“Take this in your hand, there you go-I need you to tell me what it feels like.” Time spoke very slow and deliberately. 

Twi closed his eyes and described the small stone, to Time’s relief. 

“Good. Now I need you to look at it. Tell me every detail you can see. Describe it.”

“It has jagged e-edges. It’s-wh-white with ribbons o-of brown going through it-“ he began to breathlessly recount. 

He continued on with the details of the stone and sure enough his breathing, while still abnormal, slowed. 

As the panic slipped away from the situation, Twi dropped his hand which had brought the stone closer to his face, down to his lap and let his head rest back again on Four and Time. 

“My chest...is...killing me...” he said as he proceeded to lazily rub at said area. 

Four now spoke for the first time. “I’ve seen this happen before. Usually after the person has been under some kind of stress for a prolonged period of time. You need to be careful Twi.”

The only thing that indicated Twilight had heard what was said were his eyes watching Four’s mouth as he spoke. After which they were promptly closed and Twi’s form went limp. 

“He’s stable he’s just exhausted. I’ll take him.” Time said, lifting his pup in one swift movement. 

Wild watched as Time walked with Twi in his arms back to his bedroll. As he slowly laid him down and covered him up to rest, Wild turned his thoughts inward. 

_I did nothing. What was that? What is happening with Twi why do I feel like it’s my fault why is this happening what are we gonna do-_

As his thoughts spiraled he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to his right to see Time peering down on him, a grave look on his face. 

“We need to talk,” he said. 

He turned on his heel and promptly walked into the trees. Wild followed. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Time led the way for a couple of minutes before stopping beneath a tree and turning to face Wild. 

“This needs to stop,” he said in a severe tone. 

Wild came to a halt before him, leveling a genuinely confused look back at him in response. 

“Twilight will never tell you any of this because, well...we’re all too proud to just say what needs said at times. And honestly I don’t want to get tied up in this but after what just happened...”, he trailed off, “it has to be discussed.”

“Ever since the blood moon incident happened and you scared us half to death, all of us have been worried about you cub. But none more than Twi. You know this,” he said as he leveled a glare at Wild. 

“But instead of discussing it you turned a blind eye as if it never happened, and worse, you began to punish pup for worrying about it in the first place-“

At this Wild opened his mouth to speak, “No, I am not finished,” interjected Time. Wild closed it again. 

“You may not have even noticed what you have done, but the outright avoidance of someone who cares about you and only wants you to be ok, has taken its toll on Twi.”

“He hasn’t eaten for days. He says his stomach hurts but I think we can see here that’s not from some physical ailment. And now it’s come to what happened this morning. This..._rift_ between the two of you needs to be healed. And it’s your job to do it.” he said finally, crossing his arms across his chest in a final act of decision. 

Wild stood silent, letting Time’s words wash over him. What had he done? He knew of course it was him but...he had been so caught up in his own avoidance of the problem that had begun it all that he couldn’t see what he was doing to others. Had he chosen to look a little harder he would have put the two together. He was so...selfish. So much time alone had taught him to only care for himself. 

But he wasn’t alone anymore. He had friends. Family. Brothers. And someone who really, really cared about him. 

His head was spinning, what had he done? His feet that he had been staring at during the course of these thoughts began to swirl and wobble. He let the tears fall, clearing his vision. 

He lifted his head, to face the truth that had been hurled at him moments before, shame radiating from his face. And as he did his vision was blocked again by a shoulder that came to rest against his cheek as the rest of the tears flowed freely. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Time and Wild emerged from the trees shortly after. Wild looked a mess and every member took notice, but seeing the atmosphere of the morning they chose to forgo criticism. 

All but Wild went ahead to the nearest town to buy provisions while Twilight recovered. Besides, the boys wanted something other than greens soup again for dinner that night. 

A few hours went by before Twilight stirred. Wild had chosen to sit directly next to him and whittle away at a small stick while waiting. 

It took a moment for Wild to even notice since he didn’t make a sound. He had simply looked up as he had been, to routinely to check on his mentor, when he saw his eyes already open and watching the clouds drifting by in the clear sky above the trees. 

“...Twi? How do you feel?” he cautiously said. 

“Feels like I got shield bashed by a Lizalfos,” he expressed, gently touching his chest. 

Wild smiled and let out a snort, looking down at his stick which was quickly becoming a small weapon. 

But just as quickly the smile left his face. 

“Twi, I’m sorry.” he said as he looked up and made eye contact with Twilight. 

Twilight held his gaze. “Me too.”

“Please, don’t. You only cared. I didn’t want you to worry, and I didn’t want to think about the issue. And I handled it entirely wrong...and I made you sick. Slowly. But it was me. I’m sorry, I’m so _sorry_-“ The tears had begun anew. 

Twi placed his hand upon Wild’s, cutting him off. 

“It’s ok. Let’s not do this again alright? I don’t think I can handle this happening again,” Twi said with a tired smile. 

Wild sniffled and covered Twi’s hand with his other. “Deal.”


End file.
